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Zemene Mesafint
The Zemene Mesafint ( Ge'ez: ) variously translated "Era of Judges", "Era of the Princes," "Age of Princes," etc.; taken from the biblical Book of Judges) was a period in Ethiopian history between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries when the country was de facto divided within itself into several regions with no effective central authority. It was a period in which the Emperors from the Solomonic dynasty were reduced to little more than figureheads confined to the capital city of Gondar. For the most part, the regional lords were tightly related by marriage and constituted a stable ruling elite that prevailed until the mid 20th century. The period also saw the weakening of Ethiopian territorial integrity in the north with the encroachment of the Ottoman Empire in the Ethiopian-Ottoman border conflict along with a renewal of diplomatic relations with Christian Europe after the isolationist Gondarine period and the expansion of the Shewan kingdom into the territory of the sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethiopian Empire
The Ethiopian Empire, historically known as Abyssinia or simply Ethiopia, was a sovereign state that encompassed the present-day territories of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It existed from the establishment of the Solomonic dynasty by Yekuno Amlak around 1270 until the 1974 Ethiopian coup d'état, 1974 coup d'état by the Derg, which ended the reign of the final Emperor, Haile Selassie. In the late 19th century, under Emperor Menelik II, the Menelik II's conquests, empire expanded significantly to the south, and in 1952, Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea, Eritrea was federated under Selassie's rule. Despite being surrounded by hostile forces throughout much of its history, the empire maintained a kingdom centered on its Orthodox Tewahedo, ancient Christian heritage. Founded in 1270 by Yekuno Amlak, who claimed to descend from the last Kingdom of Aksum, Aksumite king and ultimately King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, it replaced the Agaw people, Agaw Zagwe Kingdom, kingdom of the Za ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aligaz Of Yejju
Aligaz of Yejju (died 1803) was '' Ras'' of Begemder, and '' Inderase'' (regent) of the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was the son of Abba Seru Gwangul and brother of Ali I of Yejju; he became both ''Ras'' and ''Inderase'' following Ali's death. Aligaz had four sons: Dejazmach Birru, Dejazmach Gobeze, Dejazmach Faris, and Dejazmach Gojjee. Life He fought and killed Wolde Gabriel, the son of ''Ras'' Mikael Sehul in the Battle of Madab in 1788. Although that battle immediately restored Tekle Giyorgis as sole Emperor, ''Ras'' Ali's death shortly after the battle passed the post of ''Inderase'' to Aligaz, who then supported Hezqeyas as Emperor, leaving Tekle Giyorgis to "hang in the wind". Despite lacking any effective base of support, Tekle Giyorgis remained a thorn in Aligaz's side for the following years, even releasing his kindred from the Imperial prison at Wehni in 1789. Aligaz eventually gets control of Tekle Giyorgis when, after two years of living as a '' shifta'', the Emper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tewodros II
Tewodros II (, once referred to by the English cognate Theodore; baptized as Kassa, – 13 April 1868) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death in 1868. His rule is often placed as the beginning of modern Ethiopia and brought an end to the decentralized Zemene Mesafint (Era of the Princes). Although Tewodros II's origins were in the Era of the Princes, his ambitions were not those of the regional nobility. He sought to re-establish a cohesive Ethiopian state and to reform its administration and church. Tewodros II's first task after having reunited the other provinces was to bring Shewa under his control. During the Era of the Princes, Shewa was, even more than most provinces, an independent entity, its ruler even styling himself Negus, the title for King. In the course of subduing the Shewans, Tewodros took with him a Shewan prince, Sahle Maryam, who he brought up as his own son, who would later become Emperor (or Atse) himself as Menelik II. Despite his success again ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iyoas I
Iyoas I ( Ge'ez: ኢዮአስ; 1754 – 14 May 1769), throne name Adyam Sagad (Ge'ez: አድያም ሰገድ) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 27 June 1755 to 7 May 1769, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the infant son of Iyasu II and Wubit (Welete Bersabe), the daughter of an Oromo chieftain of the Karrayyu. Iyoas and Mentewab Despite his extreme youth, he was the candidate proposed by Empress Mentewab, his grandmother, who then acted as his regent. Her proposal was supported by the great nobles of the reign, '' Ras'' Wolde Leul her brother, Waragna, Ayo governor of Begemder, and ''Ras'' Mikael Sehul. One handicap with this tactic of ruling through a proxy, as Richard Pankhurst points out, was that neither Iyoas, due to his age, nor Empress Mentewab, due to her sex, could operate far from the capital city of Gondar, and relied on Waragna and her brothers to lead many of the military campaigns. The very first challenge to Iyoas' rule, when Nanna Giyorgis rebe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ras (title)
Ras ( compare with Arabic Rais or Hebrew Rosh), is a royal title in the Ethiopian Semitic languages. It is one of the powerful non-imperial titles. Historian Harold G. Marcus equates the Ras title to a duke; others have compared it to "prince".''E.g.'', Don Jaide,An Etymology of the word Ras-Tafari – By Ras Naftali, Rasta Liveware, June 2, 2014; accessed 2019.06.24. The combined title of Leul Ras (Amharic: ልዑል ራስ) was given to the heads of the cadet branches of the Imperial dynasty, such as the Princes of Gojjam, Tigray, ''Ras'' Tafari Makonnen and the Selalle sub-branch of the last reigning Shewan Branch, and meaning "Lord of Lords", the highest title of lord. Historic Ras * Ras Hamalmal of Kambata (16th century) * Ras Fasil * Ras Wolde Selassie (1736–1816) * Ras Sabagadis Woldu (1780–1831) * Ras Alula (1827–1897) *Ras Gobana Dacche (1821–1889) *Ras Mekonnen Wolde Mikael (1852–1906) * Ras Mengesha Yohannes (1868–1906) * Ras Araya Selassie Y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sahle Selassie
Sahle Selassie (Amharic: ሣህለ ሥላሴ, 1795 – 22 October 1847) was the Negus, King of Shewa from 1813 to 1847. An important Amhara people, Amhara noble of Ethiopia, he was a younger son of Wossen Seged. Sahle Selassie was the father of numerous sons, among them Haile Melekot, Haile Mikael, Seyfe Sahle Selassie, Amarkegne and Darge Sahle Selassie; his daughters included Tenagnework, Ayahilush, Wossenyelesh, Birkinesh, and Tinfelesh. He was the great-grandfather of Haile Selassie, the last Emperor of Ethiopia. Biography When their father had been murdered, Oromo people, Oromo rebels in Marra Biete kept Sahle Selassie's older brother Bakure from promptly marching to their father's capital at Qundi to claim the succession. Although still a teenager, Sahle Selassie seized this chance at rule by rushing from the monastery at Sela Dingay where he was a student "and probably with the support of his mother Zenebework's Menzian kinsmen was proclaimed the ''Ras (title), Ras'' and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Menz
Menz or Manz (, romanized: ''Mänz'') is a former Subdivisions of Ethiopia, subdivision of Ethiopia, located inside the boundaries of the modern Semien Shewa Zone (Amhara), Semien Shewa Zone of the Amhara Region. William Cornwallis Harris described Menz as lying "westward" of Gedem but between that former province and Marra Biete. Donald Levine explains that Menz was divided into three parts: Mama Meder in the center; Lalo Meder in the south; and Gera Meder in the north. Further, he defines its boundaries as "the Mofar River in the south, the Adabay River, Adabay and Wanchet River, Wanchet rivers in the west, the Qechene River in the north, and in the east a long chain of mountains which pour forth the waters that drain across Manz and which divide it from the lowlands of Efrata (Ethiopia), Efrata, Gedem, and Qawat (Ethiopia), Qawat." This would roughly equate to the modern woredas of Gera Midirna Keya Gebriel and Mam Midrina Lalo Midir. History Menz is first mentioned in the '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wube Haile Mariam
Wube Haile Maryam of Semien, (1799 – 1867), also called by his title ''Dejazmach'' Wube, Webé; his name is also given in European sources as ‘‘Ubie’’, was one of the major figures of 19th century Ethiopia, during the closing decades of the Zemene Mesafint (lit: ''Era of the princes'') a period of regional lords vying for power, prestige and territory amid a weakened authority of the emperors. The regional ruler and ''Dejazmach'' of his hereditary province of Semien, and later as the overlord Tigrayan ruler of the Tigray Province and other coastal territories in what is now part of central Eritrea. Wube is remembered in Eritrea and Tigray for barbarous military raids. A major claimant to the Ethiopian throne during his era, Wube was defeated and imprisoned in 1855 by another contender Kassa Hailu, the future emperor Tewodros II. Some sources date Wube's defeat as the end of Ethiopia's Zemene Mesafint. He died in chains in 1867 Ancestry Of ethnic Amhara descent. Wu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolde Selassie
Wolde Selassie (; c.1736 – 28 May 1816) was Ras of the Tigray province between 1788 and 1816, and Regent of the Ethiopian Empire between 1797 and 1800. John J. Halls, in his ''Life and Correspondence of Henry Salt'', preserves a description of this powerful warlord, as "small in stature, and delicately formed, quick in his manner, with a shrewd expression, and considerable dignity in his deportment." Nathaniel Pearce also notes that Ras Wolde was an avid chess player, and "would play at from morning till night". Life Wolde Selassie, who descended from the nobility of Antalo in Enderta, emerged as the ruler of Tigray, Hamasien and Mareb Melash (Eritrea) after years of fighting; Nathaniel Pearce describes an encounter where he made a name for himself by single-handedly slaying the brothers Abel and Cail, "two of Ras Michael's choice men" who were sent by Michael to kill Wolde Selasse. Despite the fact ''Ras'' Mikael Sehul was so impressed at this act of bravery that he tried ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabagadis Woldu
Sabagadis Woldu (; horse name: Abba Garray; baptismal name: Za-Manfas Qedus; 1780 – 1831) was a governor of Tigray Province of the Ethiopian Empire from 1822 to 1831. Sabagadis gained some notoriety in the first decade of the 19th century for rebelling a number of times against his overlord, '' Ras'' Wolde Selassie. But just before the death of Wolde Selassie it seems that he made up with his master and became one of his loyal lieutenants. Following Wolde Selassie's death in 1816, he defied the authority of Wolde Selassie's son, and became the most powerful warlord in Tigray. Making Adigrat his capital, he ruled Tigray and the coastal plains of Eritrea by 1818. His rule also extended to the Eritrean highlands (Hamasien, Akele Guzay, and Seraye). Biography Early life Of Tigrayan & Irob descent, ''Dejazmatch'' Sabagadis was the son of '' Shum'' ''Agame'' Woldu Kumanit who ruled Agame from the late 18th to the early 19th centuries. ''Shum Agame'' Woldu's legacy was the asc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gojjam
Gojjam ( ''gōjjām'', originally ጐዛም ''gʷazzam'', later ጐዣም ''gʷažžām'', ጎዣም ''gōžžām'') is a historical provincial kingdom in northwestern Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Markos. During the 18th century, Gojjam's western neighbors were Agawmeder in the southwest and Qwara in the northwest. Agawmeder, never an organized political entity, was gradually absorbed by Gojjam until it reached west to the Sultanate of Gubba; Juan Maria Schuver noted in his journeys in Agawmeder (September 1882) that in three prior months, "the Abyssinians considerably advanced their frontier towards the West, effacing what was left of the independent regions." Gubba acknowledged its dependence to Emperor Menelik II in 1898, but by 1942 was absorbed into Gojjam. Dek Island in Lake Tana was administratively part of Gojjam until 1987. The capital city is Bahir Dar. History The earliest recorded mention of Gojjam was during the medieval period, in a note in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenfu Hailu
Kenfu Hailu (born ca. 1800 – 1839 in Fenja) was one of the figures of the Zemene Mesafint era. He was the older half brother of Emperor Tewodros II, who came of age at his court. Kenfu is remembered for his victory over the Ottoman invaders in 1837. Biography Background Kenfu was the oldest son of Amhara noblemen Hailu Wolde Giorgis, the governor of Qwara by Woizero Walatta Tekle. His mother, Walatta Tekle was the niece of Maru of Dembiya, a powerful dejazmach ruling over large swath of territories in north-west Ethiopia known as Maru Qemas. Maru Qemas covered the territories of Dembiya, Qwara and parts of Gojjam. Before Maru, the area was governed by dejazmach Wolde Giyorgis, the father of Hailu Wolde Giyorgis, and grandfather of Kenfu. Kenfu's had two known siblings mentioned by the sources. A full brother by the name of Gebru Hailu, and his much younger paternal half brother, Kassa Hailu, later to be enthroned as Tewodros II, one of Ethiopia's most iconic Empe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
